Sparrow Junicho

on the tip of the
newly sprouted bamboo…
a baby sparrow
­                                                                         its hungry beak gaping wide
­                                                                         the black hole of parenthood
living in harmony–
the sparrow has
both parents!
­                                                                         feeding it seeds and insects
­                                                                         keeping the area clean
while I watch
he’s off to make a living alone…
baby sparrow
­­                                                                         wings strengthen in wind and rain
­                                                                         toughing out the winter chill
spring peace–
after rain, a gang war
garden sparrows
­                                                                         strident songs in the hedgerows
­                                                                         nature’s morning assembly
are the sparrows too
having a private party?
Plum blossoms
­                                                                         supping on sweet, scented dew
­                                                                         feasting on seeds and insects
don’t let the plum blossom guard
cut your tongues…
Sparrows! *
­                                                                         return to the young bamboo
­                                                                         and the joys of parenthood

Kobayashi Issa (Tr. David G. Lanoue)           Kim M. Russell, 11^th October 2019

My response to Carpe Diem #1761 Sparrows

This month Carpe Diem is celebrating its seventh anniversary with Japanese poetry about small creatures. Today it’s the sparrow, about which a lot of haiku have been written, especially by Kobayashi Issa.

Our challenge is to create a Junicho: a renga of 12 stanzas, from six given haiku written by Issa, by adding two-lined stanzas (approx. 7-7 syllables).

This will be my last post while I spend time with my daughter and grandson, who will arrive tomorrow and stay for a week. I’ll be writing and posting again the week after.

* Issa alludes to an old Japanese fairy tale in which a mean old woman cut a sparrow’s tongue with scissors because the sparrow pecked at her starch. Here, Issa warns the chirping sparrows that their tongues might be in similar jeopardy, hinting that the guard is a mean old grouch.